234 HACKS AND HUNTERS 



ture to work, and must be well cut and fitted to look 

 properly. No amount of pulling or stretching will 

 ever persuade it to assume a shape that it did not 

 have originally. 



The color of a habit is, of course, largely a matter 

 of taste, but a black ground with a touch of "pepper 

 and salt," or what is termed Oxford or regulation Mel- 

 ton mixture, is preferable. Dark blue, brown, and green 

 habits are not as smart as melton mixture, while black 

 broadcloth has too " dressy" a look to be workman- 

 like. Cheviots, worsteds, and whipcords do very well 

 for knocking about the country, but should not be 

 used for the show ring, park, or for hunting. 



For summer wear more liberty of taste is permis- 

 sible. Habits of dark gray cloth are pretty for coun- 

 try wear, or coats of tan gabardine or white linen 

 with a skirt of small black-and-white checked material. 

 Reversing the scheme and wearing a dark coat and a 

 white serge skirt, although smart, is not serviceable, 

 as the white soils so quickly. Washable cloths and 

 natural pongees, even when shrunk before being made 

 up, are very unsatisfactory as they seldom retain their 

 shape. 



The skirt, if of Melton, should be of treble weight, 

 and in any case several degrees heavier than the ma- 

 terial used for the coat. To hang well, a coat material 

 must be of a pliable stuff, but a skirt cloth must be 

 very heavy in order that it present a straight line from 

 knee to toe. A skirt of a light material will not only 

 blow like a balloon in every wind, but will allow the 

 right toe to appear out from under its fold, a very ugly 

 fault. Even for summer wear the skirt should be heavy, 

 and if a light material is chosen for the coat, it should 

 be lined or stiffened when used in making up the skirt. 



